DAW Benchmarks 2013 – What gives you the best performance for audio applications? 
Here's the link:
http://www.scanproaudio.info/?p=2290
 
Unfortunately, amd is bottom of the barrel...I wish it weren't so

I use a Phenom 2 X4 and have no problems at all.
Of course Intel is better, but it's also more expansive. There's nothing wrong with going for AMD except if you think you'll stall the CPU with a LOT of plugins. CPU benchmarks indicate this AMD is close to an Intel Core i7-3770S.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=AMD+FX-8350+Eight-Core&id=1780
So I think it will be quite comfortable.
 
Concerning your power supply, you can find fanless PSU. They are more expansive,but not that much, and it's one fan you can't slow down less. 600W is overkill. 400W should be enough. (no big gaming GPU and they are the reason why more than 400W is needed). I have a 400W PSU with a radeon HD4550, 4 HDDs ,a 95W CPU, a UAD1 card and no problems.
Also check CPU coolers. Stock ones tend to be noisy, but not a lot more that a middle price "better one". Check reviews.
 
Concerning windows 7 or 8 both should work. The only reasons to get windows 7 is:
* You already own a licence.
* You don't like Windows 8 interface (a lot do)
* Your audio hardwares (soundcard,midi,DSPs,plugins) are old and do not support windows 8(plugins shouldn't pose problems unless they use outdated copy protections).
* You need to use legacy firewire drivers(my focusrite LiquidMix needs them)
 
Be careful,if you have a home/home premium edition,you won't be able to use more than 16Gb RAM. Only Pro version and up can use more.
 
 

Thanks for all the input guys, Your advice has been much appreciated :o)
 

Vastman
DAW Benchmarks 2013 – What gives you the best performance for audio applications? 
Here's the link:
http://www.scanproaudio.info/?p=2290
 
Unfortunately, amd is bottom of the barrel...I wish it weren't so

After viewing this I decided against the AMD route, I have gone with an I7 4770K which actually only came in at EUR40.00 more than the AMDFX8350 but well out performs it according to the benchmark links provided.
 

jscomposer
 
What are you going to use for a sound card or interface?
 
Regarding Windows, I still use Win 7 Pro so I can't speak for Win 8. If I were to build a new machine, I would go with Win 8 because I've read a lot of good reviews about stability, etc. If you go Win 7, get the pro version, as it will recognize more than 4GB Ram. 

I have a cheap and cheerful M Audio Fast Track that I will use for now with the intention of upgrading later in the year.
I wasn't aware of this RAM limitation so thanks for the heads up on that.
 
I now await my parts so fun times ahead!
 

use win 8 or 8.1, faster than 7.
 
get 16 or 32gb ram and an 800W+ power supply.
 
intel/nvidia a safer bet as more sw folks partner with them...

I installed Windows 8.1 on my newest build simply because they pulled Windows 7 off the shelves and I figured I would give it a go.  I actually kind of like it.  I have Sonar right on the start screen so I always just click on that right away and it fires right up... 
 
Sounds like you are going to have a pretty awesome set-up.

If you haven't bought your OS yet I would recommend taking another look at Windows 8.1. I have it running on my DAW and it's running very smoothly with Sonar X1. And LatencyMon is very happy also. 
 
There have been plenty of reports by users who had problems upgrading from Win7 to Win 8 then Win8.1. I did my upgrade by installing Win8 fresh, then upgraded to Win8.1, and you are in a perfect position to do it that way since you are building a new computer.
 
Once you're on Win8.1 install Classic Shell to get back the Windows desktop (unless you want to use a touch screen) and the Win8.1 desktop will be working like what you experienced with Win XP/7.
 
None of this is meant to knock Win7 - it's a very good OS, I've used it since it was first released and it is a great DAW OS... Win7 is what WinVista should have been. But using Win8.1 gives you the latest OS and it certainly isn't a step down from Win7. And certainly Sonar's development will move forward using Win8 as a foundation rather than Win7.
 
And I'm also not trying promote Metro - I think it was a mistake for MS for push the touch-screen environment on every Windows user. I actually tried to make Metro work for me, in the interest of being open-minded, but without a touch screen Metro is simply too awkward and slow to use with a mouse/keyboard interface, and using Classic Shell to get back to the familiar Windows desktop made Win8 usable for me.
 
Good luck with your build!

How well any computer handles a DAW is primarily about your OS install and OS peripheral driver setup. All the basic necessities (mobos, CPUs, GPUs, RAM, etc) today are basically equal aside from their running speed. As long as you have *enough* CPU, enough RAM, and a clean data path (properly installed fixed discs, proper North/South bridge chipset drivers for mobo) - then any CPU, GPU and RAM brand will work.
 
I personally use an AMD-based laptop for SONAR X3d (an aging Sony Vaio), but did run X2 (and X1) on an AMD-based desktop. Both ran fine - no hardware issues were observed whatsoever. I have no problems with Intel CPUs other than their pricing - which is why I've built AMD systems more often than not for my personal use since the early 1990s. But I do occasionally buy a pre-built Intel box from Sam's Club (usually an HP) when I need one at one of my company's offices for a new hire or whatnot. Those also work fine. And would likely run a DAW like a champ too if someone so chose to try. But I buy those for the sake of time - I learn that I need a computer at 10AM and can have one up an running by 11AM by just buying a pre-made box from the local Sam's or CompUSA/Tiger Direct store...but when I set to building myself a system, I spend at least some time finding all the "right" parts, and the best places to buy them from - and usually I get a lot more "bang for the buck" in the CPU department from AMD. Of which I've never had a single one fail or cause any issues with an OS or programs (even ran OS/2 back in the day and will still occasionally boot various flavors of Linux to them to this day).
 
So get what you want and can afford in so far as capacity, speed, etc - as the actual brands are of little consequence today.

Good to see some people are still building their daws.
I use to do that myself until I bought my first now from adkproaudio.
Will never build one again…to much work putting it together and tweaking it for best performance.
Although, I would like to know how much you save by building yourself.
I wonder if it is worth all the work/trouble...
 

I enjoy building computers, so it is worth my time. These days, I'd worry more about an interface.

DIVA? That's just a synth module (I also use Zebra), it uses minimal resources. I'd me more concerned with big sample based VST's.